Commercialization, Innovation, Securitization:

Transatlantic Space Policy

· By Heaven Sullivan ·

The increasing commercialization and militarization of space has led to a new geopolitical reality that is reflected in the resources governments are directing towards the realm beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Civil space agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Science Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have historically served as instrumental hubs for space exploration and innovation. NASA’s budget reached $27.2 billion in 2024 (though a draft FY 2026 proposal would trim it sharply), while ESA’s hit a record €7.88 ($8.56) billion, funded by its 28 member and associate states, which include Canada.

At the same time, the private sector has hardly stood idly by. U.S.-based company SpaceX has transformed the satellite launch industry and contributed to congestion in low Earth orbit, which has more than ten times the number of satellites it did just a decade ago. The United States continues to dominate the commercial space sector, with an estimated 7,800 Starlink satellites in orbit, although several European companies are significant players. This includes Luxembourg’s SES, which operates approximately 70 satellites in orbit, making it one of Europe’s most successful satellite communication service providers.

In 2022, the European Union released its first space strategy, which centers on security and defense. Several European countries, including the United Kingdom, have issued their own national defense plans for space, and increased domestic production and procurement of military satellites and launch capabilities. As great-power competition between the United States and China plays out in space, and Russian aggression on land and in low Earth orbit continues to raise concern, the transatlantic community is making unprecedented investments in space security at the national level.

Both sides of the Atlantic also see the potential of space for economic and agricultural growth. Denmark’s space strategy links orbital data directly to its green-energy transition, Romanian smart-farming initiatives use Earth-observation data to optimize crop production through superior resource management, and Canada’s most recent space strategy aims for satellite imagery to support at least a quarter of the country’s farms by 2027.

Most countries in the transatlantic community agree that democratic values must remain at the core of civil space exploration. This is reflected in the U.S.-led Artemis Accords and ESA’s growing membership. Nonetheless, as space moves away from a domain committed primarily to science and civil cooperation to become a proxy for terrestrial security and commercial conflicts, tensions are rising on the final frontier.

For more information on the space policy of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the EU and its 27 member states, visit www.transatlanticbarometer.org